“Back to Life” was created after my final chemotherapy session. Throughout the entire course of my treatment, I photographed myself as a way of documenting change and holding on to identity. None of those images felt right, all of them wäre tragic. I could not see myself in them. They felt incomplete.
In creating this self-portrait, I made a conscious homage — to my body, to endurance, to survival. That act became a form of protection. The image did not merely represent me; it shielded me. It gave me the strength I had been searching for throughout the months of therapy.
Photographing myself helped me endure a difficult period. It is not about illness. It is about reclamation. It is about refusing to wait until one feels beautiful, healthy, or “ready” to exist fully. It is about standing inside vulnerability and choosing presence.
